John m



` UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN M. D. KEATING, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ENvELoPE-MACHINE.

Specification forming part ot' Letters Patent No. 39,053, dated .Tune30, 1863.

To all whom 'it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN M. 1). KEATING, ofthe city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Machines forMaking Envelopes 5 and l do herebydeclare the following to be afull,

clear, and exact descriptionthereolreference V being had tothetaccompanying drawings, iig- -ble bed.

Similar letters and figures of reference indica-te like parts in all thedrawings. f

The first part of my invention consists in making the bed for the faceof the envelope adjustablein combination with a folding mechanism, sothat the envelopel may be folded loose or tight, and also readilyadjusted to varying thicknesses of paper.

The second part otmy invention consists in combining with a foldingapparatus devices for holding and presenting theblanks'so as to insure aperfectdelivery to the plunger and folding apparatus.

The third part ofmy invention consists in the employment, in combinationwith, a movable form for the blanks and folding apparatus,

of a sleeve-shaft to work'the form.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention,I willldescribe the construction and operation thereof..

A, Fig. 1, represents one side of the frame of the machine, (the legsbeing broken olf at the bottom,) which frame issecured together' areseven cams, four yof which,with their-connection s, work the foldingflaps, While another in the center of the sha-ft works the bed F for theface of the envelopes. (These tive cams are inside ot' the frame, andareso shaped as to bear a proper relation to all the working parts of themachine.' There are small rollers pivoted to levers, which rollers restupon the periphery of the cams, and are kept in con'- tact therewith bysprings arranged from the bed or base ofthe machine to draw the leversdown upon the cams. On the side next the wheel there is a cam, 5?,which, by means of the roller 53'on the lever 51, con heating-rod 50,

`and arms 49 and 9 `on the shaft 3, works'the lplunger 5. On the otherside of the machine,

on the shaft 1, there is a 021111,54, which has a roller, 57, on thelever 13, resting upon its periphery, which, by thevconnecting-rod 12and arms 10 4and 1l, secured to th-e sleeve shaft 4 by pins 48 and rod14, reciprocates the form 15. These cams, levers, rollers, and springsbeing common to all machines, and

forming no part of my invention, I omit a detailed description of theirpeculiar shape. rlhe plate B is cast With proper slots for the workingof the arms on the countershafts 29, 30, and 31,(the fourth not beingseem) and by their coliirectingrods 22, 25, and 28 work the folding aps26 and 27, which are the side or broad flaps. The two end flaps, beingdownl in Fig. l, are not seen. These folding iiaps are. all properlyhinged to blocks secured to the bed B by screws, as plainly shown inFig. 1. The bed C is cast with mortises for the paste dishes 40 and 4land plunger 5, and has grooves cut therein f;r the V-wa-ys 46 of theform 15. This form has also side grooves, in lwhich areinserted platesfj', Fig. 2, to insure perfect travel of the form 15.

The bottoln or bed F, ,upon which the face of the-envelope rests duringthe folding operation, is cast hollow, and is hinged, bythe ears 33,ata-32, and is made adjustable, as shown-in the detail ldrawings 3, 4,and 5, where the bottom part is represented by b, the top by a, `and theadjusting-wedge by a. The screw l has a groove cut close to the head',which rits a slot cut in the end of the bed F, while the screw runs inthe wedge-shaped fork or piece c. This wedge consists of a narrow fork,which fits the shell of the bed F, and the upper plate, a., with' itsbeveled edge; rests upon it, as seen in the sectional drawing, Fig. 5,-lThe bottom F is beveled, and by turning the screw (which is heldstationary by the groove and slot) in,- one direction the"wedge iscarried forward land the plate a raised, and bylrevers` ing thevoperation of the screw the wedge is retracted and the` plate cdepressed. lhe screws e e must be loosened during the operal tion ofadjusting sufficiently to allow the plate i a to-be raised, and when thebed'is properly adjusted they are tightened up. In this bed F there areslots 47 for springs to throw oi' the envelopes, when desired, into thespout G.

The operation of the machine willbe as follows: The blanks, previouslycut, are placed upon the stationary plate H, which extends forward farenough to cover the aperture in the moving form 15, thereby preventingdisplacement or injury 1o the blanks during the travel of the form,) andagainst the wings K K, as shown in Fig. 2.; Motion being given tothemain sha-ft in the direction of the arrow, the cam 54 operates the lever13, rod 12, arm

1l sleeve-shaft 4, arm 10, attached to shaft 37,

androds 14, which are jointed at 38 and 39 to the form l5, and carriesthe form forward. The inclined pieces I Iraise the blank, and thesprings 34 grasp and carry it, with the form, under the plunger ,5. Thebed F -for the face of the envelope is hinged, by theears 33 kand pin32, to ears von the bed B, (having been previously adjusted for-loose ortight folds, thick or thin paper,) is now` raised by a cam on the mainshaft operating the lever 20,` and rod 16, which is jointed to the bedF, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5, and the plunger 5, (the spindle having itsbearings at 43 and 44 in the arch D, and held in proper position by thecross- -head 45,) operated by'the Acam 52, lever 51,

connecting-rod 50, arms 49 and 9 on Vthe shaft 3, and rods 8, jointedlto'thecross-head 7,-now

`descends by its gravity and the aid of a spring arranged to keep theroller53` tothe periphery ot' the cam, and folds the flaps at rightangles with theface ofthe envelope. The plunger is -now raised by thelelevation of the lever 51 (and its intermediate connection with theplunger) upon thecams 52 to its highest point, wher it remains at restdun. ing about two-thirt s of a revolutionl of the main shaft. As soonasthe plunger 'liasascended sutiiciently high'the end aps, (shown v asdown in Fig` 1,).worked by cams on the main shaft 'and levers,.(onlyone, 2l, hinged at 19, and having a roller, 56, and operated by a cam,55, being seen, the rest being the same and directly back of this,) and`connectingro'ds 17 and 18, (theother twobeingiu the same line are notseen,) andthe arms 23 and 24 on the cpunter-shafts 29, 30, and 31, (thefourth not seen,)'and therrods 22, 25', and 28,

close thc aps and nish the envelope per not attached them to the machineherewith presented.

The connecting-rods from the cam-levers all have screw-connections forthe more perfect adjustment of the mechanism.

The cam-levers all swing upon rne shafts -5 and l9, and are kept in,position upon the shaft by collars and set-screws.

The advantage of placing the counter-shafts belowthe bed is to leave theupper part free andunobstructed for the operators to feed the blanksrapidly, and thereby permit thefaste'r operation f the machine.

- Having thus fully described my improvements, what I claim as myinvention, and de sire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The adjustable bed, in combination with thefolding mechanism,substantially as` described, whereby the machine can be readily adjustedto fold the envelope loose .or tight, and for varying thicknesses ofpaper, substantially as described and set forth.

2. -I-ncombination with thefolding mechanism, the plate H, covering, theaperture in the form, thereby preventing the blanks from I catching ordisplacement as they are seized and carried under the plunger,substantially as described and set forth.

3. In combination with" a movable form for carrying the blanks and afolding mechanism, substantially as descrbed,.the slecve-shaft 4 to workthe form, substantially as described.

l JOHN M. D. K-EATING.

Witnesses:

` G.,A.DURGIN,

W. BRAY.

